Worldwide Shadow Education Epidemic: From East Asia to Western Hemisphere

Abstract

This chapter provides a summary of the landscape of shadow education globally. It traces the historical development of the concept of shadow education and highlights the concept’s ambiguities. Through a review of the scholarship, it also presents contemporary discourses about shadow education and summarizes the distinctive features of shadow education in different countries including in East Asia, Europe, and North America. By showing how pervasive it is globally, the authors demonstrate the importance of understanding shadow education, especially with respect to students’ evolving learning cultures and the ecology of education.